La Spain less accurate and more imprecise so far in the World Cup -the effort must not be questioned- lost to Denmark in the semifinal against them (23-26). It was necessary to play a match bordering on perfection to overcome the obstacle of the most talented team in current handball, and Spain was not on that frequency wave this time.
The difficulties in sustaining the avalanche of play and resources deployed by the Danes were taken for granted, and it was where Spain performed at the best level, but in any case insufficient. The lack of freshness -did the 80 minutes against Norway take its toll?- to do their best handball. He almost never developed the necessary dynamics in the face of a challenge of the entity that always involves measuring himself against the Danes.
The first tactical compliment decided by Jordi Ribera gave a result that was temporary because Denmark did not take long to adapt. The second attempt was made by Pérez de Vargas with his saves. A third crashed into Nicklas Landin and Spain missed the boat for the final.
Leaving the Danish team at 26 goals, their lowest score throughout the championship -40 against Hungary in the quarterfinals, 32 against Croatia in their closest match- can be described as a success. The shots were not going around when the Danes had scored 9 goals in the first quarter. The first line was stopped, but they unblocked their game with the pivot. The blanket was not enough to cover one and the other. It also coincided with the worst phase of Spanish play in the championship, with poorly located shots, with little risk for Landin, and those who had it the Dane conjured it.
With a 5-9 lead, Ribera stopped that dynamic, ordering Odriozola to defend as a forward and his two pivots to play in unison. It turned out to be a success; Even the first good shot from behind was achieved, and with a 5-1 (10-11) run the game seemed to level off. It was not. The coach did not keep his bet up, and without it the hardships returned to score a goal. In fact, Spain did not go back on the scoreboard until the break and Denmark put the direct again (10-15).
The situation called for a change of scenery that could only be effective if Spain recovered its offensive inspiration. Conditions were not the best, with his men at their limit and few front-line troops. In those circumstances Alex Dujshebaev threw the team behind him. Three of his actions, two goals and a forced penalty, unblocked the attack; he did not stop encouraging his companions. The defense remained on its feet, controlling Gidsel, but almost never that other phenomenon that has arisen for the Danes, Pytlick, as gifted or more gifted than his partner.
Then Pérez de Vargas emerged to support the team with his saves and even with an empty goal. In action, the two best? goalkeepers in the world, surely the most reliable. Again reviving, Spain got to one (20-21).
It was the moment in which the Danish coach made a move playing with seven attackers. It was a sign that they were in trouble. And when things looked better for Hispanics, Kauldi was strictly excluded. They are those crossroads that a team like Denmark never misses out on; This time neither, and a new growth (20-25) with three and a half minutes to go.
Any other selection would have been resigned to their fate. She is not the Spanish one; Gonzalo continued to act as a guardian angel, giving opportunities to his teammates, who had his rivals by the throat. It seemed impossible but Spain was placed with 23-25 and a seven meters in favor. There was Landin again, as from the beginning, to uproot any hope. The walk that seemed to be his victory after a quarter of an hour turned into torture before those Hispanics, not as successful as other times, but indomitable. The World Cup has not finished for it; They expect a rival for the bronze.
TECHNICAL SHEET
23- Space: Prez de Vargas (1); Maqueda, Fernandez (3), Sun (4, 3p), Caellas (2), Guardiola, Pecia; Alex Dujshebaev (3), Figueras (1), Serdio (3), Married, Valera (1), Snchez-Migalln (1), Daniel Dujshebaev (1), Odriozola (1).
26- Denmark:Nicklas Landin (Moller); Magnus Landin (2), Saugstrup (5), Gidsel (3), Hansen (4, 2p), Pytlick (6), Kirkelokke (1); Jacobsen (3), Mollgaard, Hald (1), Jorgensen (1).
Scoreboard every five minutes: 3-3, 4-6, 5-9, 7-10, 10-12, 10-15; 13-17, 15-20, 17-20, 20-21, 20-23, 23-26.
arbitrators: Schulze and Tonnies (Germany). They excluded Maqueda (twice) and Odriozola for Spain and Magnus Landin, Kirkelokke and Saugstrup for Denmark.
Incidents: Semifinal match of the men’s World Championship. ERGO Arena in Gdansk (Poland).
